News

Czech political leaders have made a breakthrough in talks on the formation of a new government, breaking a two months long deadlock. An agreement reached on Friday envisages the election of Social Democrat Miloslav Vlcek to the post speaker of parliament on a temporary basis, the resignation of the old cabinet and the appointment of a prime minister designate, all within a matter of days. All parliamentary parties have agreed to the plan, although the centre right parties have said they need guarantees from MP Vlcek that his mandate would be temporary and that he would resign under precisely defined conditions.

Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party has agreed to support a minority Civic Democratic Party government which would include both politicians and experts. The Social Democrats themselves would go into the opposition, and if all goes according to plan, party leader Jiri Paroubek would eventually become speaker of the lower house.

The leadership of the Social Democratic party has urged party members to take an active part in a discussion on the possible stationing of a US missile base on Czech territory. Party leader Jiri Paroubek said he wanted this issue to be one of the focal points of the party's campaign in local elections coming up in the autumn. The Social Democrats have been pushing for a national referendum on the US missile base to be part of an agreement with the Civic Democrats. Washington has not yet decided whether to locate the base in the Czech Republic or Poland, but the Czech foreign minister has indicated that some kind of offer will almost certainly be made. The only opinion survey available on the subject suggests that 82 percent of Czechs do not want a US missile base in the Czech Republic.

European decathlon champion Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic retained his title at the European championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, thanks to impressive performances in the long jump, high jump and 110m hurdles. The reigning Olympic champion and double world silver medallist finished on a season's best of 8,526 points after dominating the field in the 10 disciplines of the gruelling two-day event. He finished a massive 170pts ahead of Hungary's Attila Zsivoczky (8,356pts) in silver. Russian Aleksey Drozdov (8,350pts) took bronze.

Prague's Ruzyne international airport has stepped up security following the news on Thursday of thwarted terrorist attacks that were to have targeted US bound planes from Britain. The additional security measures concern primarily flights bound for Great Britain and the US, and are in effect. Passport and security clearance have been tightened and passengers are no longer allowed to take liquids or gels on board. A spokeswoman for the airport recommended that anyone travelling to either Great Britain or the US arrive well in advance of boarding - at least two hours before take off.

A number of flights from Prague to London were cancelled on Thursday as London's Heathrow airport closed to traffic. Also on Thursday: Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek met with the heads of Czech Intelligence and requested the activation of a special team which will monitor the situation and coordinate security measures. The Czech Intelligence Service has issued a statement saying there is no direct threat to the Czech Republic at present.